Nepenthe

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Wolfenstein (2009). I wanted something, anything to play this weekend, and decided against Alan Wake at the last moment. While this might have been a bad decision (that was based on my unwillingness to buy anything more for the x360 than I "have to"), at least it was cheaper. It's partially very atmospheric, it does have the "Wolfenstein feel" to a degree, but it just doesn't gel in the way RtCW did (for some reason I really liked that one). I guess it starts getting a bit "meh" when every opponent has UBER MAGIK POWERS, instead of saving those to spice up the standard mix of SS and chaps.

Adding to the 'strange european things' : here in Italy we actually use the comma to separate the decimal points from the rest of the number. Some variation, but the official way of writing "1,500.25" would be 1 500,25 around here - at least according to the style manual of the Helsinki Court of Appeal, which I happen to have.

So? Different rules apply to RPGs and, say Modern Warfare 2 or whatever else the kids play these days? Let's keep our expectations (borderline) realistic. Besides, I think they could have easily doubled the length of Awakening by adding some pointless filler dungeons with 3-4 types of darkspawn in the vein of the original game. I think it's much better this way, and I'm rather sorry if your immersion requires this sort of thing.

Is 12 hours that bad? I've never understood the fixation with "time played" as the prime metric for determining quality. Unless you're just playing a game to pass the time and not to enjoy it or anything like that. Sure, 2 minutes in heaven is better than 1 minute, but I've played some games with 60-100 hours of gameplay that frankly were just time sinks when I step back and look at it. Sure, I played a lot of Oblivion, but I'd much rather play a significantly shorter game that is of actual quality. And let's not forget that the 12 hour expansion is roughly 1,5-2 times as long as the average AAA title, these days. Kind of a ludicrous thing to call out the game for.

It's impossible to tell what the full implications of this are. Some conspiracy theorists are indeed going to push the "you pay 60 $ for the media, and then 10 $ to actually play the game in the future" angle (I used to joke that if it were up to studios, dvds and blu-rays would only include the audio tracks in SDDS format - which can't be decoded by home players), but I think this is more an attempt to target Gamestop and similars re-retailers and redistribute the money generated by the used games market (so that the profit gets divided between the retailer and the publisher). The interesting part is what this does to the pricing of the used games, will they try to sell used "crippled" copies for ~5 $ less than retail, or will the price for those go down, and what will the effect be on the buy-in price. When the game companies pull something like the Assassin's Creed DRM scheme, I'll definitely join in on the uproar. But when something does not touch me in any way, I refuse to join in on the "sky is falling" groupthink just because somebody tells me that it's the beginning of the end. I'm perfectly okay with what EA is doing right now, and I'm not seeing anything even close to an "escalation" in the scheme right now, it's just the ME2/DAO scheme applied in a sports game context.

Interesting development of the scheme they pioneered with the two Bio games. Might be taking it a bit far, but frankly, I haven't played a "sports" game since Face Off about 20 years ago and an online multiplayer in ~5. I'd probably be all in uproar if it touched me in some way, but can't rustle up an iota of indignation as it is. Re: movie sales: I think the studios are definitely aiming for non-transferable digital distribution. Current optical disc systems do not (thankfully) support such schemes, but I'm sure if they did, we'd be in that boat. Kind of happy they don't, I've unloaded about quite a few DVD movies to switch over to blu-ray.

Me too, I think it's a brilliant scheme, which I heartily approve of. Not sure how involved the online checks related to the DLC were, I've heard some conflicting info.

I'm still sore for not getting a screen cap of Sarevok deathbringering Gromnir. The in-game one.

I'm only in Chpater 17 right now, and I haven't noticed any plot holes yet. The VO is absolutely excellent. Don't believe everything the haters say. It was different and I had quite a bit of fun with it. Of course I have the advantage of owning a PS3, along with other gear, so I don't have to think of reasons why I wouldn't want it even if I had the gear. I tried it once, with Mass Effect, and walked home with what I needed to play it. Related: Now playing Mass Effect 2. Third run. So far enjoy it more every time I play it.

Look forward to seeing what they do with it. Considering all I've seen so far are non-engine trailers, I won't commit just yet. But unless it looks a total smoldering pile that makes DX2 seem almost as good as the first one, I'll pick it up day 1.

AP, DX 3, hopefully something fun for ME 2. Fallout: NV is on my "watch, probably purchase day 1 based on developer pedigree" list, not so much on the "zomg I'm so excited I can barely sleep" list like the other 3. The list(s) has/have never been this short. I still can't figure out why everybody announces everything at E3. It just means it gets lost in the flood.

If only there were some way to not spend money on a game without breaking the law... Enoch TKOs. Reminds me of the prisoner on Purgatory in ME2 - the one who hasn't showered in three months because there's always somebody after his... pride. In related news, currently playing ME2 w. infiltrator. With the Locust SMG giving the requisite short/mid range firepower to complement the sniper rifle(s), is probably the most fun I've had playing the game (Sentinel was at first position until now).

I have absolutely no idea if that is neat or not. Which is probably kind of neat in itself, they sure caught me by surprise. That said, I have a couple of hours to play every few days, and that's been seriously driving me towards ME2 over DAO (or replaying Awakening, which I do remember as kind of awesome). ME2's structure works well for this kind of "casual" gaming. And Kasumi's mission is fun. These allergy meds are also apparently making me ramble even more than usual, but, hey.

And, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to buy games the month they come out OR wait for the drop in price! You can actually buy them on any date after the initial release! Probably less applicable here, but it wouldn't be the first time I've seen that kind of thinking on this forum.

Or make life-sized dolls. OTOH, Mass Effect 2 is as close as I'm going to get to tapping Yvonne Strahovski, so it does carry some value.

No, it's not logical, and you don't need to guess, the contents are listed: different overall content in both packs.

Come on now, don't be rude. I'm serious. I bought two copies of Mass Effect 2. The DLC was multiplatform, so I minmaxed with a PC collector's edition and a gamestop x360 version. Got everything but the Incisor rifle, and for 2 platforms.

Oh how short a gamer's memory is.

Interesting. Also, the employee lawsuit apparently includes some people still working at IW. Very interesting to see if this ever goes to court.

I still feel conned whenever I notice GTAIV on my shelf. Never ever have I encountered a game that I felt so unworthy of its hype and reviews. Different strokes, I guess, but the last time I buy a game that doesn't interest me just based on the hype (and I liked Vice City!)

Talk about strangling the goose that lays golden eggs. Of course, Acti could be figuring that anybody can make a CoD:MW game and it's still going to make them billions. They are probably right.

As far as I am aware, nothing's been confirmed.

And the IW guys breached as well, by not following the benchmarks set for their product. It's a matter of who was a **** first. I'm having a lot of trouble following this discussion, mostly because I never have any idea when you're making things up or when you're just referencing material I've missed. Of course, odds are, we'll never know what really happened, since it would be the surprise of the century to me if this one doesn't get settled out of court. Of course, if IW is getting gutted by rats jumping to the new ship of the EA Line, Acti might have little to lose.